novelinnhs Chapter 048 Dignity
Chapter 048 Dignity
Monday afternoon.
Jinshi Music, Recording Studio.
When Yang Du announced a 15-minute break, the musicians walked towards the rest area, chatting and laughing.
Yuan Xiuqing walked in, her face bearing an extremely strange expression.
She approached Yang Du and lowered her voice, "Boss, you'd never guess who called me!"
Yang Du cooperatively asked, "Who?"
"Qi Qiao".
That was quite an unexpected answer.
"She talked to me on the phone for five minutes, her tone was so warm and friendly, calling me 'Sister Xiuqing' and 'Teacher Yang' all the time. They're trying their best to repair their relationship with you."
Hearing this, Yang Du was momentarily taken aback.
His impression of Qi Qiao and Xu Xiao was still that of their arrogant and domineering behavior in the recording studio.
Oh, and there's one more, Schrödinger's Xu Xiao.
With her proud and arrogant personality, how could she possibly take the initiative to seek peace?
It's like the sun has risen in the west.
Seeing the undisguised astonishment on Yang Du's face, Yuan Xiuqing couldn't help but chuckle.
She suddenly realized that no matter how talented Yang Du usually appeared, he was still a junior in college and lacked firsthand experience of the hypocritical logic of the adult world's pursuit of fame and fortune.
Yuan Xiuqing then explained, "It seems you haven't fully adapted to your status yet, boss. You should know that in the entertainment industry, there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends, only permanent interests."
"You've only been in the industry for a month, and you haven't produced many works, but every single one of them is a masterpiece."
"Flammable and Explosive" broke the 24-hour streaming data record for female singers and won the number one spot on the charts for three weeks. "Singing and Smiling" was featured on CCTV's Children's Day Gala, an officially recognized honor. And "Painting Heart," which was just released today, is currently very popular."
"In the music industry's hierarchy of contempt, a producer who can consistently produce hit songs will always have a much higher status than those singers who perform on stage."
"As the saying goes, the camp remains but the soldiers come and go. Singers may fade into obscurity or lose their voices, but a good producer will always be a guest of honor at the three major music and television stations."
"This isn't some irreconcilable feud over the murder of one's father or the theft of one's wife. As long as Xu Xiao isn't out of his mind, he would never make an irreconcilable grudge with you at this time and let the conflict escalate."
Yang Du immediately understood: "So, last time in the recording studio, besides wanting to seize control and deliberately trying to intimidate me, she also had another intention—"
"She wasn't even targeting me on purpose, she just simply felt... I wasn't good enough for her?"
"It's hard to say that it's impossible, after all, there was a huge difference in your status at the time."
Yuan Xiuqing nodded and said, "Perhaps in Xu Xiao's eyes at the time, although you wrote 'Flammable and Explosive,' you were at best just a college student with some talent and good luck."
"How could a rising star possibly lower herself to befriend a newcomer who has just entered the industry?"
"But now, the situation is completely different. Boss, you already have the makings of a hit product generator. In the future, you will be able to stand on equal footing with her, and even, to some extent, have the power to make her take the initiative to befriend and flatter you."
As she spoke, Yuan Xiuqing opened the tablet in her hand, pulled up a video, and handed it to Yang Du to watch.
"This morning, Xu Xiao praised 'Painting Heart' during an interview at a brand event, saying that you are talented. Shortly after, she also reposted the movie trailer and a link to 'Painting Heart' on Weibo."
The video's background is a high-end brand event, where Xu Xiao, with exquisite makeup, is surrounded by a group of reporters wielding cameras and microphones.
A reporter asked loudly, "Xiaoxiao, just now, the trailer for 'Falling Flowers Through Lifetimes' and the song 'Painted Heart' were released online. Have you listened to these songs? What are your thoughts?"
According to the usual practice in the entertainment industry, when faced with such pointed and sensitive questions, celebrities usually choose to avoid talking about them or have someone control the situation and interrupt them.
Surprisingly, Xu Xiao in the video actually smiled and said, "Of course I've heard about it. I've been following the news about 'Painting Heart'."
"Painting Heart is an excellent piece. Its arrangement is grand, and Jiang Yan's singing is amazing. Of course, Yang Du is also a very talented producer."
"As I said before, our differences were simply a matter of differing opinions, but now it seems the final result is fantastic. I hope people won't overinterpret it."
"I'm also really looking forward to the movie's release, and I hope 'The Rain of Falling Flowers Through Life' will be a box office hit. Thank you."
Tsk tsk tsk, honestly, Yang Du could never be so smooth.
"Killing two birds with one stone!" Yang Du exclaimed.
"Not only that, it kills multiple birds with one stone."
Yuan Xiuqing held up one finger: "By publicly praising you, you are taking the initiative to make amends and try to repair your relationship."
"Secondly, by adopting this magnanimous attitude, we can put an end to the previously much-discussed controversy surrounding the recording studio audition. This sends a message to the outside world—"
"Look, Yang Du and I have no personal grudges. The unpleasant parting that day was simply due to differences in our musical philosophies. That message on Weibo was just something I said in a fit of anger, and I immediately realized it was inappropriate, so I deleted it right away."
"This directly salvaged some of the damage to her reputation."
"Third, 'The Falling Flowers Through Lifetimes' is currently very popular and is being discussed all over the internet. Her reposting of it not only brought her a surge of traffic but also earned her some goodwill from the general public."
"Fourth, if you want to target Xu Xiao in the future, with this show of goodwill and weakness today, netizens will only think that you are one-sidedly unable to let go."
"I've really learned something." Yang Du pinched the bridge of his nose, experiencing the realities of the entertainment industry for the first time.
Yuan Xiuqing put away the tablet and asked, "So, boss, since Qi Qiao has taken the initiative to make amends and is willing to repair the relationship, what should our attitude be?"
Yang Du thought for a moment and said, "Since they went to so much trouble to offer me this way out, let's accept it. I'll need to use Jinshi's various resources in the future, so it's not worth getting into a fight over money and resources over this petty squabble."
Seeing Yang Du quickly adjust his mindset and make the decision that best served his business interests, Yuan Xiuqing was also surprised. She had thought she would need to use more persuasion to convince Yang Du.
"Understood." Yuan Xiuqing stood up decisively. "Then I know how to reply to Qi Qiao. I promise, everyone will behave very politely from now on."
……
Meanwhile, Tao Cheng, who was far away in Xiangcheng, had just finished recording a variety show and returned to the dressing room specially prepared for her by the TV station.
"How realistic..."
Tao Cheng looked at Xu Xiao's Weibo post and found it unbelievable.
Tao Cheng saw perfectly well how Xu Xiao subtly guided fans to create drama after the recording studio audition controversy.
"I originally thought that, given Xu Xiao's arrogant temperament, seeing that 'Painting Heart,' which should have been hers, became popular because of Jiang Yan's singing, she would hire some online trolls to smear Jiang Yan."
"I never expected this! She actually swallowed her anger and went out of her way to help her junior. That's some serious change of heart!"
"Realistic? That's the right word." Sister Hong instructed her assistant to contact the driver to prepare the van, then sat down in front of Tao Cheng. "In this industry, 'realistic' is a compliment."
"She's a pop diva who's firmly established herself among the top four and top three in the Chinese music scene. Do you think she got to where she is today just because of her voice and looks?"
"Four big and three small..." Tao Cheng said with some envy.
Hongjie said, "None of those who can gain a foothold in the 'Big Four' and 'Little Three' are easy to deal with. Xu Xiao may be arrogant, but she's not stupid, and her team is even less so."
Tao Cheng's thoughts had already drifted to the "Four Big and Three Small": "I wish I could become one of them someday. Then, we can't keep calling it 'Four Big and Three Small.' It'll be 'Four Big and Four Small,' or even 'Five Big and Three Small'? Hahaha."
Seeing Tao Cheng's carefree yet spirited demeanor, Sister Hong couldn't help but laugh.
"With the release of 'Flammable and Explosive,' you've firmly established yourself as a top-tier singer. If you can maintain a solid foundation and manage your second album well, you might just win a Golden Chart Music Award for Best Female Pop Singer."
Upon hearing about a second album, Tao Cheng suddenly sat up straight: "Sister Hong, speaking of albums, is my second album still in the planning stage?"
In this internet age where traffic is king, singers are releasing albums less frequently, and more people are choosing to release singles that have a more immediate market response to make money.
However, for a singer who wants to go further in the music scene and challenge the status of the "Four Big and Three Little" (referring to top singers and popular artists), releasing a studio album remains an indispensable requirement.
"Yes, there's another meeting in a couple of days to discuss the budget and album positioning."
Hearing this, Tao Cheng's expression turned serious: "Sister Hong, what do you think... about inviting my junior to be the producer of my second major album?"